Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely amazing!
Review: I've been into the topic of Tutankhamen for years now, but only recently stumbled on this book while doing research for a specific paper. It was incredible! Brier sets the scene for Tut's life and death perfectly, and reconstructs all the evidence into a plausible and convincing theory. I couldn't put this text down once I started it. It filled in all the gaps about this period of Egyptian history I'd ever had. If you're a Tut fan and haven't read this book yet--what are you waiting for? :)
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Theory but no more than a guess, really
Review: In this work, the author claims that Tutankhamen was murdered, in fact the subtitle of the book is "a true story". Well, emphasis on the "Story". Using a single piece of evidence, allegedly a swelling on the base of the mummy's skull, he spins a tale of palace intrigue and political assasination. This is certainly a good read, and a good introduction for someone to Egyptology, but it's not history. There are some details that the author has left out or altered to make his point: first, he uses the funeral portraiture on Tutankhamen's tomb to hypothesize that Ay was setting himself up as successor. Actually, in many tombs the "opening of the mouth" ceremony has the son of the deceased present. If anything, Ay is showing his dedication to the king, portraying himself as the loyal subject-the arranger of the funeral. By putting his face on the wall, he reminds Tutankhamen who performed the burial. This may well be a way to ensure that "Tut" will remember Ay when he is dead. Secondly the author uses the term "true of voice" in describing on of Tutankhamen's names. Not true, well not true while the king was alive. "True of voice" is used when meeting Anubis, Thoth, and the heart is weighed against Ma'at; it's strictly funereal. Speaking of Ay, there's simply no way to know what his motivations were, if any. He left no record, and no other record has yet been found. Finally, the comments of another reviewer concerning efforts to review the xrays and analysis raise suspicion. Any scientist who refuses to release his data for scrutiny by colleagues must make one skeptical about any conclusions drawn. I think the best analysis that could have been made would have been to take samples from the mummy for forensic exam. If testing showed that Tutankhamen did not die from disease, then the author could have moved from that premise to the one he espouses here. The strengths of the book are in the fusing of several different disciplines to attempt a solution of an ancient question. The description of day-to-day life plus the details of Akhenaten alone make the book worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Everybody's Entitled To Their Fantasies....
Review: Including Dr. Brier but it should be emphasized that his murder theory is pure speculation with no evidential basis whatsoever!! The supposed skull damage is, to say the least, inconclusive and quite possibly post mortem. We are expected to believe that a dedicated and well rewarded Royal Servant suddenly in his old age develops a hunger for the crown that causes him to murder his own grandchildren to get it. Such an abrupt shift in character is possible of course, due perhaps to a brain tumor, but unlikely to say the least. In fact the transition from Tutankhamon to a co-regency of Ankhesenamon and Ay seems to have occured smoothly and swiftly, all was settled while the tomb was being decorated, as shown by Ay's image as Pharaoh performing the Opening of the Mouth. The only evidence for a disputed succession comes from Hittite... texts written some decades after the fact claiming an *unnamed* Queen of Egypt requested a Hittite bridegroom to crown as King. How likely is it that Ankhesenamon would actually *beg* an enemy king to take over her country? Or that she would prefer a 'wretched asiatic' to her own grandfather as co-ruler?
Rating:
Summary: The King and the Slayer
Review: Mr. Brier, a noted Egyptologist, has always struck me as a maverick in this field. Be that as it may, his books are always well written and understandable even to the novice. This book is no exception. By means of evidence collected thirty three centuries after the fact, this paleopathologist presents a strong circumstantial argument that not only Tutankhamen, but possibly his widow Ankhesenamun and probably a foreign prince were also the victims of murder. There is no smoking gun here, as the X-rays of Tut's skull are forensically ambiguous. However, the circumstantial evidence chronicled and articulated by Mr. Brier is logically and deductively overpowering. Realistically, there is enough evidence for a modern grand jury to indict Ay for murder, and Horemheb as a co-conspirator. I have studied this historical period for many years, and arrived at these same conclusions long ago. Bravo Mr. Brier, you have eloquently stated what others would call "alternate history". I would call it the dirty truth.
Rating:
Summary: Reawakened my interest in a fascinating subject
Review: The best thing about this book is that it makes a strong case for the reexamination of Tutankhamun's remains. His death led to the reign of Ramses II, the Pharaoh of the Exodus, so if it was murder, then it was a murder that changed history.Since the damage to the king's skull has provoked theories that he was murdered, including myself, I'm glad that someone finally decided to investigate the idea. I was fascinated by Brier's case, even if at times I had to take him with a grain of salt. The book also discusses something I've often wondered: what happened to Ankhesenamun? Either she lies in an undiscovered tomb, or she was never given one. Why would a queen of Egypt--even if she was murdered--not be given a royal burial? And a lost theory about the letters to the Hittites, which Pauline Gedge uses in her novel The Twelfth Transforming, is that Nefertiti wrote them when Akhenaten died. That's possible, since she, too, had no sons. And the idea makes more sense coming from a mature queen. Gedge also theorizes that Tutankhamun's murder was committed by Horemheb, the man of action, when he saw that there would be no heirs to the throne. This seems more likely than an old man, who established Tut on the throne, who was related to him--and who could easily have seen to it that he did not grow up.
Rating: 
Summary: Pointless as whodunit
Review: The book is well written and full of very valuable information about Ancient Egypt, which makes it worth reading. Unfortunately, however, the author tries so hard to make a 14th century BC monarch digestible to modern American readers, that he does stupid things like comparing Akhenaton's Amarna project to Woodstock in the 60s, or Akhenaton himself to a hippie guy, or turning Tutankhamen's death into a whodunit. There may have been no murder at all, the young pharaoh probably just fell from his car and hit his head; but even if he was really murdered by his vizier Aye, what is so bombastic about it? There's certainly nothing new about this version. Even in "The Egyptian", that old and unsurpassed novel by Mika Waltari, that's precisely what happens. There isn't even another plausible suspect beside Aye, who succeeded Tutankhamen as king of Egypt.
Rating:
Summary: Very Interesting and Informative!!!
Review: The Murder of Tutankhamen presents a very intriguing view about the young Pharaoh's death. The book gives an excellent overview of ancient Egyptian life and chronicles the reigns of several Pharaohs leading up to Tutankhamen and through Horemheb. Although this is only a theory about Tut's death it definitely gets one thinking about what might really have happened. Dead men do tell tales.
Rating:
Summary: Murder 101
Review: The Murder of Tutankhamen was quite informative and obvious that the author did a tremendous amount of research for the book. However, the final analysis is still nothing more than conjecture on the part of the author regarding the possibility of murder. And the hypothesis that Tut could have lingered for several months after the injury before succumbing to death seems to be a real stretch. The author cast far and abroad for any clues possible to argue the case, but too many issues remain conflicatory for me to bring back a guilty verdict based on this book. Its a good read, but leaves the reader with a sense of doubt and mistrust of the presentation.
Rating:
Summary: Murder 101
Review: The Murder of Tutankhamen was quite informative and obvious that the author did a tremendous amount of research for the book. However, the final analysis is still nothing more than conjecture on the part of the author regarding the possibility of murder. And the hypothesis that Tut could have lingered for several months after the injury before succumbing to death seems to be a real stretch. The author cast far and abroad for any clues possible to argue the case, but too many issues remain conflicatory for me to bring back a guilty verdict based on this book. Its a good read, but leaves the reader with a sense of doubt and mistrust of the presentation.
Rating:
Summary: A fast readable crimestory with a little scientific value.
Review: The overwhelming evidence that the author provides makes his book less believable. And therefor I found the scientific side of the book very disappointing. The book however is written in an easily readable way and as a crime story I enjoyed the book.
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